During the period from November 1918 to May 1921 the division was part of the 6th Army, 7th Army, 15th Army, 4th Army, Reserve Group of the Western Front, 3rd Army, 15th Army, 9th Army, and 11th Armies. It participated in the liberation of Archangel and Onega. In the spring of 1920 the division was part of the Western Front and took part in the invasion of Poland. After being defeated at the Battle of Warsaw the division retreated to East Prussia where it was briefly interned.

In November 1920 the division was assigned to the Caucasus Front where it participated in the battles with the white-green in the Kuban region and participated in the Erivan operation. In 1921 the division was located in Yaroslavl, Moscow Military District.

Until June 1941 was stationed in Kazan, from the middle of June 1941 to the beginning of the transfer of the western frontier. On 22 June 1941 the 208th Infantry Regiment and the majority of other regiments had arrived in the west. Still located in Kazan was the commander of the division, and all the rear units. The division was assigned to 61st Rifle Corps, 20th Army (Soviet Union). The division initially took up positions west of Orsha, but on 5 July was moved to south of Orsha taking up positions on the left bank of the Dnieper River covering the area from Orsha to near Shklow.

The corps ordered the division to push two battalions supported by antitank weapons to the Drut River 40–45 km from the main line of defense. These units were quickly cut off from the rest of the division by advancing German forces. The division fully entered battle on 9 July and by 11 July German forces had crossed the Dnieper River north of Shklow and quickly surrounded the division. The division received its order to withdraw on 18 July and on 19 July was in an encircled defensive position near Pishchikov. east of the Dnieper River. A small part of the division was able to break out of the ring on 23 July and joined the group led by General Boldin, which broke out of the encirclement on 15 August 1941.

For its actions defending the Dnieper River the division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. The division was officially disbanded on 19 September 1941.[1]

Recreated in February 1942 at Ryazan in the Moscow Military District from a cadre of the 16th Sapper Brigade. Spent four months in the District and assigned to the 1st Reserve Army in STAVKA Reserves. The division was located under the Staling Front Reserves by 10 July and reassigned to the 4th Tank Army. The division participated in unsuccessful counterattack on 22 July 1942. From 3–12 August the division was involved in intense fighting in a small bend of the Don River north-west of Stalingrad. Sustaining heavy casualties on 15–16 August and making another unsuccessful counterattack on 17 August. Due to its significant losses the division was put in reserve on 23 September 1942.[1]

After spending three months in the Moscow Military District rebuilding near Tambov[1] the division was sent to the Volkhov Front before the end of the year and assigned to the 2nd Shock Army. In mid-January 1943 the division broke through the German encirclement, breaking the Siege of Leningrad and joining the forces of the Leningrad Front. The 18th Rifle Division is credited with capturing the first Tiger Tank.

The division would participate in the Svir-Petrozavodsk Offensive. In late September 1944 the division was assigned to the Soviet-Finish border southwest of Sortavala. The division was placed in the STAVKA reserves in mid-November 1944 assigned to the 19th Army's132nd Rifle Corps.[1]

1.
Soviet Union
–
The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. It was nominally a union of national republics, but its government. The Soviet Union had its roots in the October Revolution of 1917 and this established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and started the Russian Civil War between the revolutionary Reds and the counter-revolutionary Whites. In 1922, the communists were victorious, forming the Soviet Union with the unification of the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, following Lenins death in 1924, a collective leadership and a brief power struggle, Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid-1920s. Stalin suppressed all opposition to his rule, committed the state ideology to Marxism–Leninism. As a result, the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization and collectivization which laid the foundation for its victory in World War II and postwar dominance of Eastern Europe. Shortly before World War II, Stalin signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact agreeing to non-aggression with Nazi Germany, in June 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, opening the largest and bloodiest theater of war in history. Soviet war casualties accounted for the highest proportion of the conflict in the effort of acquiring the upper hand over Axis forces at battles such as Stalingrad. Soviet forces eventually captured Berlin in 1945, the territory overtaken by the Red Army became satellite states of the Eastern Bloc. The Cold War emerged by 1947 as the Soviet bloc confronted the Western states that united in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Following Stalins death in 1953, a period of political and economic liberalization, known as de-Stalinization and Khrushchevs Thaw, the country developed rapidly, as millions of peasants were moved into industrialized cities. The USSR took a lead in the Space Race with Sputnik 1, the first ever satellite, and Vostok 1. In the 1970s, there was a brief détente of relations with the United States, the war drained economic resources and was matched by an escalation of American military aid to Mujahideen fighters. In the mid-1980s, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, sought to reform and liberalize the economy through his policies of glasnost. The goal was to preserve the Communist Party while reversing the economic stagnation, the Cold War ended during his tenure, and in 1989 Soviet satellite countries in Eastern Europe overthrew their respective communist regimes. This led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements inside the USSR as well, in August 1991, a coup détat was attempted by Communist Party hardliners. It failed, with Russian President Boris Yeltsin playing a role in facing down the coup. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned and the twelve constituent republics emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as independent post-Soviet states

2.
Red Army
–
The Workers and Peasants Red Army was the army and the air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, and after 1922 the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The army was established immediately after the 1917 October Revolution, the Bolsheviks raised an army to oppose the military confederations of their adversaries during the Russian Civil War. The Red Army is credited as being the land force in the Allied victory in the European theatre of World War II. During operations on the Eastern Front, it fought 75%–80% of the German land forces deployed in the war, inflicting the vast majority of all German losses and ultimately capturing the German capital. In September 1917, Vladimir Lenin wrote, There is only one way to prevent the restoration of the police, at the time, the Imperial Russian Army had started to collapse. The Tsarist general Nikolay Dukhonin estimated that there had been 2 million deserters,1.8 million dead,5 million wounded and 2 million prisoners and he estimated the remaining troops as numbering 10 million. Therefore, the Council of Peoples Commissars decided to form the Red Army on 28 January 1918 and they envisioned a body formed from the class-conscious and best elements of the working classes. All citizens of the Russian republic aged 18 or older were eligible, in the event of an entire unit wanting to join the Red Army, a collective guarantee and the affirmative vote of all its members would be necessary. Because the Red Army was composed mainly of peasants, the families of those who served were guaranteed rations, some peasants who remained at home yearned to join the Army, men, along with some women, flooded the recruitment centres. If they were turned away they would collect scrap metal and prepare care-packages, in some cases the money they earned would go towards tanks for the Army. Nikolai Krylenko was the supreme commander-in-chief, with Aleksandr Myasnikyan as deputy, Nikolai Podvoisky became the commissar for war, Pavel Dybenko, commissar for the fleet. Proshyan, Samoisky, Steinberg were also specified as peoples commissars as well as Vladimir Bonch-Bruyevich from the Bureau of Commissars, at a joint meeting of Bolsheviks and Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, held on 22 February 1918, Krylenko remarked, We have no army. The Red Guard units are brushed aside like flies and we have no power to stay the enemy, only an immediate signing of the peace treaty will save us from destruction. This provoked the insurrection of General Alexey Maximovich Kaledins Volunteer Army in the River Don region, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk aggravated Russian internal politics. The situation encouraged direct Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War, a series of engagements resulted, involving, amongst others, the Czechoslovak Legion, the Polish 5th Rifle Division, and the pro-Bolshevik Red Latvian Riflemen. The Whites defeated the Red Army on each front, Leon Trotsky reformed and counterattacked, the Red Army repelled Admiral Kolchaks army in June, and the armies of General Denikin and General Yudenich in October. By mid-November the White armies were all almost completely exhausted, in January 1920, Budennys First Cavalry Army entered Rostov-on-Don. 1919 to 1923 At the wars start, the Red Army consisted of 299 infantry regiments, Civil war intensified after Lenin dissolved the Russian Constituent Assembly and the Soviet government signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, removing Russia from the Great War

3.
Winter War
–
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland in 1939–1940. It began with the Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, the League of Nations deemed the attack illegal and expelled the Soviet Union from the League on 14 December 1939. Finland refused and the USSR invaded the country, the Soviets possessed more than three times as many soldiers as the Finns, thirty times as many aircraft, and a hundred times as many tanks. The Red Army, however, had been crippled by Soviet leader Joseph Stalins Great Purge of 1937. With more than 30,000 of its officers executed or imprisoned, including most of those of the highest ranks, because of these factors, and high morale in the Finnish forces, Finland repelled Soviet attacks for several months, much longer than the Soviets expected. However, after reorganization and adoption of different tactics, the renewed Soviet offensive overcame Finnish defenses at the borders, hostilities ceased in March 1940 with the signing of the Moscow Peace Treaty. Finland ceded territory representing 11% of its area and 13% of its economy to the Soviet Union. Soviet losses were heavy, and the international reputation suffered. While the Soviet Union did not conquer all Finland, Soviet gains exceeded their pre-war demands and they gained substantial territory along Lake Ladoga, providing a buffer for Leningrad, and territory in northern Finland. Finland retained its sovereignty and enhanced its international reputation, the end of the war cancelled the Franco-British plan to send troops to Finland through northern Scandinavia. One of the goals of the projected Franco-British operation had been to take control of northern Swedens iron ore. For this reason it was also a factor in the launching of Operation Weserübung, Nazi Germanys invasion of Denmark. The poor performance of the Red Army encouraged Hitler to think that an attack on the Soviet Union would be successful, until the beginning of the 19th century, Finland constituted the eastern part of the Kingdom of Sweden. In 1809, to protect their capital, Saint Petersburg. While abortive because of Russias internal strife, these attempts ruined Russias relations with the Finns, the new Bolshevik Russian government was weak, and with the threat of civil war looming Soviet Russia recognized the new Finnish government just three weeks after the declaration of independence. Sovereignty was fully achieved in May 1918 after a civil war. Finland joined the League of Nations in 1920, from which it sought security guarantees, nevertheless, the government of Sweden carefully avoided committing itself to Finnish foreign policy. Another Finnish military policy was the top secret military cooperation between Finland and Estonia, the 1920s and early 1930s were a politically unstable time in Finland

4.
Battle of Moscow
–
The Battle of Moscow is the name given by Soviet historians to two periods of strategically significant fighting on a 600 km sector of the Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between October 1941 and January 1942, the Soviet defensive effort frustrated Hitlers attack on Moscow, capital of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the largest Soviet city. Moscow was one of the military and political objectives for Axis forces in their invasion of the Soviet Union. Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion plan, called for the capture of Moscow within four months, the German Army Group North moved towards Leningrad, Army Group South took control of Ukraine, and Army Group Center advanced towards Moscow. By July 1941, Army Group Center crossed the Dnieper River, in August 1941, German forces captured Smolensk, an important stronghold on the road to Moscow. At this stage, although Moscow was vulnerable, an offensive against the city would have exposed the German flanks. In part to address these risks, in part to attempt to secure Ukraines food and mineral resources, Hitler ordered the attack to turn north and south and eliminate Soviet forces at Leningrad and this delayed the German advance on Moscow. When that advance resumed on 2 October 1941, German forces had been weakened, for Hitler, the Soviet capital was secondary, and he believed the only way to bring the Soviet Union to its knees was to defeat it economically. He felt this could be accomplished by seizing the economic resources of Ukraine east of Kiev, when Walther von Brauchitsch, Commander-in-Chief of the Army, supported a direct thrust to Moscow, he was told that only ossified brains could think of such an idea. Franz Halder, head of the Army General Staff, was convinced that a drive to seize Moscow would be victorious after the German Army inflicted enough damage on the Soviet forces. This view was shared by most within the German high command, but Hitler overruled his generals in favor of pocketing the Soviet forces around Kiev in the south, followed by the seizure of Ukraine. The move was successful, resulting in the loss of 660,000 Red Army personnel by 26 September, with the end of summer, Hitler redirected his attention to Moscow and assigned Army Group Center to this task. The forces committed to Operation Typhoon included three infantry armies supported by three Panzer Groups and by the Luftwaffes Luftflotte 2, up to two million German troops were committed to the operation, along with 1,000 tanks and 14,000 guns. German aerial strength, however, had severely reduced over the summers campaign. Luftflotte 2 had only 549 serviceable machines, including 158 medium and dive-bombers and 172 fighters, the attack relied on standard blitzkrieg tactics, using Panzer groups rushing deep into Soviet formations and executing double-pincer movements, pocketing Red Army divisions and destroying them. Facing the Wehrmacht were three Soviet fronts forming a line between the cities of Vyazma and Bryansk, which barred the way to Moscow. The armies comprising these fronts had also involved in heavy fighting. Still, it was a formidable concentration consisting of 1,250,000 men,1,000 tanks and 7,600 guns, the Soviet Air Force had suffered appalling losses of some 7,500 or 21,200 aircraft

5.
Battle of Stalingrad
–
Marked by fierce close quarters combat and direct assaults on civilians by air raids, it is often regarded as one of the single largest and bloodiest battles in the history of warfare. German forces never regained the initiative in the East and withdrew a vast military force from the West to replace their losses, the German offensive to capture Stalingrad began in August 1942, using the German 6th Army and elements of the 4th Panzer Army. The attack was supported by intensive Luftwaffe bombing that reduced much of the city to rubble, the fighting degenerated into house-to-house fighting, and both sides poured reinforcements into the city. By mid-November 1942, the Germans had pushed the Soviet defenders back at great cost into narrow zones along the west bank of the Volga River. On 19 November 1942, the Red Army launched Operation Uranus, the Axis forces on the flanks were overrun and the 6th Army was cut off and surrounded in the Stalingrad area. Adolf Hitler ordered that the stay in Stalingrad and make no attempt to break out, instead, attempts were made to supply the army by air. Heavy fighting continued for two months. By the beginning of February 1943, the Axis forces in Stalingrad had exhausted their ammunition, the remaining units of the 6th Army surrendered. The battle lasted five months, one week, and three days, elsewhere, the war had been progressing well, the U-boat offensive in the Atlantic had been very successful and Rommel had just captured Tobruk. In the east, they had stabilized their front in a running from Leningrad in the north to Rostov in the south. There were a number of salients, but these were not particularly threatening, neither Army Group North nor Army Group South had been particularly hard pressed over the winter. Stalin was expecting the main thrust of the German summer attacks to be directed against Moscow again, with the initial operations being very successful, the Germans decided that their summer campaign in 1942 would be directed at the southern parts of the Soviet Union. The initial objectives in the region around Stalingrad were the destruction of the capacity of the city. The river was a key route from the Caucasus and the Caspian Sea to central Russia and its capture would disrupt commercial river traffic. The Germans cut the pipeline from the oilfields when they captured Rostov on 23 July, the capture of Stalingrad would make the delivery of Lend Lease supplies via the Persian Corridor much more difficult. On 23 July 1942, Hitler personally rewrote the operational objectives for the 1942 campaign, both sides began to attach propaganda value to the city based on it bearing the name of the leader of the Soviet Union. The expansion of objectives was a significant factor in Germanys failure at Stalingrad, caused by German overconfidence, the Soviets realized that they were under tremendous constraints of time and resources and ordered that anyone strong enough to hold a rifle be sent to fight. If I do not get the oil of Maikop and Grozny then I must finish this war, Army Group South was selected for a sprint forward through the southern Russian steppes into the Caucasus to capture the vital Soviet oil fields there

6.
Operation Iskra
–
Operation Iskra was a Soviet military operation during World War II, designed to break the German Wehrmachts Siege of Leningrad. Planning for the operation shortly after the failure of the Sinyavino Offensive. The German defeat in the Battle of Stalingrad in late 1942 had weakened the German front, the operation was conducted by the Red Armys Leningrad and Volkhov Fronts, and the Baltic Fleet during January 12–30,1943 with the aim of creating a land connection to Leningrad. The Soviet forces linked up on January 18, and by January 22, the operation successfully opened a land corridor 8–10 kilometres wide to the city. The success led to a more ambitious offensive operation named Polyarnaya Zvezda less than two weeks later. That operation had the aim of decisively defeating Army Group North, lifting the siege altogether, Soviet forces made several other attempts in 1943 to renew their offensive and completely lift the siege, but made only modest gains in each one. The corridor remained in range of German artillery and the siege was only over on January 27,1944, the Siege of Leningrad started in early autumn 1941. By September 8,1941 German and Finnish forces had surrounded the city, cutting off all routes to Leningrad. However, the drive on the city failed and the city was subjected to a siege. During 1942 several attempts were made to breach the blockade but all failed, the last such attempt was the Sinyavino Offensive. Despite the failures of earlier operations, lifting the siege of Leningrad was a high priority. In December, the plan was approved by the Stavka. The operation was due to begin in January 1943, by January 1943, the situation looked very good for the Soviet side. The German defeat in the Battle of Stalingrad had weakened the German front, the Soviet forces were planning or conducting offensive operations across the entire front, especially in southwestern Russia. Amidst these conditions, Operation Iskra was to become the first of several operations aimed at inflicting a decisive defeat on the German Army Group North. The area south of Lake Ladoga is a forested area with many wetlands closer to the lake. In addition the forest shielded both sides from visual observation, both of these factors greatly hindered the mobility of artillery and vehicles in the area, providing a considerable advantage to the defending forces. The Neva River and marshes were partially frozen in winter which allowed infantry to cross it, the Germans were well aware that breaking the blockade was very important for the Soviet side

7.
East Pomeranian Offensive
–
The East Pomeranian Strategic Offensive operation was an offensive by the Red Army in its fight against the German Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front. It took place in Pomerania and West Prussia, and officially lasted from 10 February –4 April 1945, during the East Prussian Offensive, however, Rokossovsky was ordered to wheel directly north toward Elbing. This left substantial German forces intact in Pomerania, where they threatened the flank of Zhukovs formations. The need to secure the flanks delayed the Soviets final push towards Berlin, the delay did, however, allow the Soviets to occupy significant parts of Austria in the Vienna Offensive. As early as 13 February, German intelligence services had deduced that the Soviets would seek to clear Pomerania before advancing on Berlin. The 2nd Army—defending a large and exposed sector running through Pomerania eastward toward the edge of East Prussia at Elbing — sought permission to withdraw, grudziądz, on the Vistula, was surrounded on 18 February. On 26 February, he inserted the 3rd Guards Tank Corps east of Neustettin, where they achieved a penetration of 40 km, the 3rd Guards Tank Corps broke through at Baldenburg, while Neustettin on the Fronts left flank fell to the 3rd Guards Cavalry Corps on 27 February. Weiß had hurriedly assembled the VII Panzer Corps, including the remnants of the 7th Panzer Division, however, after a Soviet breakthrough at Koslin on 2 March, the 2nd Army found itself completely cut off from the rest of its Army Group. Zhukovs right wing—a grouping of the 3rd Shock Army and 1st and 2nd Guards Tank Armies—went over to the offensive on 1 March, striking northward with the main force concentrated at Reetz. The entire left wing of 3rd Panzer Army was cut off by their breakthrough, after Guderian refused Raus request for withdrawal, on 4 March, forward Soviet tank units reached the Baltic, and the German forces in Pomerania were trapped in a series of encirclements. The 2nd Army began to back on the Danzig fortified area. Rokossovksy opened the second phase of his offensive on March 6, the 2nd Shock Army threatened to cut off the defending forces in the fortress of Marienburg, which was evacuated two days later, while in the east Elbing finally fell on 10 March. The defence of Marienburg was conducted by a Kampfgruppe under the control of the staff of the 7th Infantry Division, including marine, SS. Weiß, having warned that the Elbing pocket could not be held, was relieved of command on 9 March, the troops of the German 2nd Army withdrew in disarray into Danzig and Gdynia, where the 2nd Belorussian Front besieged them. Zhukovs forces meanwhile, cleared the remainder of 3rd Panzer Army from the east bank of the lower Oder, many civilian refugees from Pomerania had fled into the coastal town of Kolberg, which was surrounded by 4 March. Nevertheless, the town was defended until 18 March, by which time evacuation was almost complete. Rokossovsky opened his offensive on 15 March 1945, the main thrust. The fighting was savage, but by 19 March 1945 the Soviet spearheads had reached the heights over Zoppot, by 22 March 1945, the 70th Army reached the sea, splitting the German defence

8.
Order of Suvorov
–
The Order of Suvorov is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Field Marshal Count Alexander Suvorov. The Order of Suvorov was originally a Soviet award established on July 29,1942 by decision of the Presidium of Supreme Soviet of the USSR and it was created to reward senior army personnel for exceptional leadership in combat operations. The Order of Suvorov was divided three different classes, 1st class, 2nd class, and 3rd class. Georgi Zhukov became the first recipient of the Order of Suvorov 1st class on January 28,1943, the Order 1st class was awarded to army commanders for exceptional leadership of combat operations. The Order 2nd class was awarded to corps, division, the Order 3rd class was awarded to regimental commanders, their chiefs of staff, and battalion and company commanders for outstanding leadership leading to a combat victory. In November 2015 all recipient formations of the Ukrainian army were stripped of their Red Banner Order of Suvorov as part of an Armed Forces-wide removal of Soviet awards, the Order may be awarded posthumously. The Order of Suvorov is a 40mm wide gold plated cross pattée with silver rays protruding from the center outwards between the arms of the cross to form a square, the distance from the tip of the silver rays to the tip of the opposite rays is 35mm. The obverse center has a circular medallion bearing the gilded bust of Alexander Suvorov, in profile. Just below the bust of Suvorov, on the lower edge, crossed branches of oak. At the upper part of the medallion, following its circumference, the reverse is bare except for the award serial number. The Order is suspended by a ring through the suspension loop to a standard Russian pentagonal mount covered by a 24mm wide green silk moiré ribbon with a 5mm wide orange central stripe

9.
Order of Kutuzov
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The Order of Kutuzov is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov. The Order was established during the German-Soviet War to reward senior Red Army officers, the Order of Kutuzov has three classes and was retained by the Russian Federation after the Dissolution of the Soviet Union. The Order of Kutuzov was established in three classes, 1st class, 2nd class, and 3rd class, general Ivan Galanin who distinguished himself during the Battle of Stalingrad became the first recipient of the Order 1st class. During World War II,669 Orders of Kutuzov 1st class were awarded, the Order of Kutuzov 1st class was also awarded to Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant in 1945, to recognize the enormous contribution of its workers towards the defeat of Nazi Germany. The Order 2nd class was awarded to 3,325 corps, division, the Order 3rd class was awarded to regimental commanders, their chiefs of staff, battalion and company commanders and was only established on February 8,1943. 3,328 3rd class orders were awarded, the present Order was modified to its current design and award criteria by Presidential Decree 1099 of September 7,2010. The Order of Kutuzov is worn on the side of the chest. The badge of the Order of Kutuzov is a 40mm wide silver cross pattée with gold rays protruding between its arms at an obtuse angle, in the center of the obverse, a silver medallion bordered by a wide white enamelled band surrounded by a gilt laurel and oak wreath. In the medallion, the gold plated left profile bust of M. I, Kutuzov with the image of the Kremlin wall in the background. On the sides of the white enamelled band, the gilt inscription Mikhail Kutuzov. The reverse is plain, the serial number is inscribed on the reverse of the cross lower arm. The Order of Kutuzov is suspended from a standard Russian pentagonal mount by a ring through the suspension loop, the mount is covered by an overlapping dark blue silk moiré ribbon with a central 5mm wide orange stripe. Awards and decorations of the Russian Federation Awards and decorations of the Soviet Union The Commission on State Awards under the President of the Russian Federation Legal Library of the USSR

10.
Division (military)
–
A division is a large military unit or formation, usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. Infantry divisions during the World Wars ranged between 10,000 and 30,000 in nominal strength, in most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, in turn, several divisions typically make up a corps. In the West, the first general to think of organising an army into smaller units was Maurice de Saxe, Marshal General of France. He died at the age of 54, without having implemented his idea, victor-François de Broglie put the ideas into practice. He conducted successful practical experiments of the system in the Seven Years War. The first war in which the system was used systematically was the French Revolutionary War. It made the more flexible and easy to manoeuvre. Under Napoleon, the divisions were grouped together into corps, because of their increasing size, napoleons military success spread the divisional and corps system all over Europe, by the end of the Napoleonic Wars, all armies in Europe had adopted it. In modern times, most military forces have standardized their divisional structures, the peak use of the division as the primary combat unit occurred during World War II, when the belligerents deployed over a thousand divisions. With technological advances since then, the power of each division has increased. Divisions are often formed to organize units of a particular type together with support units to allow independent operations. In more recent times, divisions have mainly been organized as combined arms units with subordinate units representing various combat arms, in this case, the division often retains the name of a more specialized division, and may still be tasked with a primary role suited to that specialization. For the most part, large cavalry units did not remain after World War II, in general, two new types of cavalry were developed, air cavalry or airmobile, relying on helicopter mobility, and armored cavalry, based on an autonomous armored formation. The former was pioneered by the 11th Air Assault Division, formed on 1 February 1963 at Fort Benning, on 29 June 1965 the division was renamed as the 1st Cavalry Division, before its departure for the Vietnam War. After the end of the Vietnam War, the 1st Cavalry Division was reorganised and re-equipped with tanks, the development of the tank during World War I prompted some nations to experiment with forming them into division-size units. Many did this the way as they did cavalry divisions, by merely replacing cavalry with AFVs. This proved unwieldy in combat, as the units had many tanks, instead, a more balanced approach was taken by adjusting the number of tank, infantry, artillery, and support units. A panzer division was a division of the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS of Germany during World War II

11.
Russian Civil War
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The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war in the former Russian Empire immediately after the Russian Revolutions of 1917, as many factions vied to determine Russias political future. In addition, rival militant socialists and nonideological Green armies fought against both the Bolsheviks and the Whites, eight foreign nations intervened against the Red Army, notably the Allied Forces and the pro-German armies. The Red Army defeated the White Armed Forces of South Russia in Ukraine, the remains of the White forces commanded by Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel were beaten in Crimea and evacuated in late 1920. Lesser battles of the war continued on the periphery for two years, and minor skirmishes with the remnants of the White forces in the Far East continued well into 1923. Armed national resistance in Central Asia was not completely crushed until 1934, there were an estimated 7,000, 000–12,000,000 casualties during the war, mostly civilians. The Russian Civil War has been described by some as the greatest national catastrophe that Europe had yet seen, many pro-independence movements emerged after the break-up of the Russian Empire and fought in the war. Several parts of the former Russian Empire—Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the rest of the former Russian Empire was consolidated into the Soviet Union shortly afterwards. After the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, the Russian Provisional Government was established during the February Revolution of 1917, Political commissars were appointed to each unit of the army to maintain morale and ensure loyalty. In June 1918, when it became apparent that an army composed solely of workers would be far too small. Former Tsarist officers were utilized as military specialists, sometimes their families were taken hostage in order to ensure their loyalty, at the start of the war three-quarters of the Red Army officer corps was composed of former Tsarist officers. By its end, 83% of all Red Army divisional and corps commanders were ex-Tsarist soldiers, a Ukrainian nationalist movement was active in Ukraine during the war. More significant was the emergence of an anarchist political and military movement known as the Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine or the Anarchist Black Army led by Nestor Makhno, some of the military forces were set up on the basis of clandestine officers organizations in the cities. The Czechoslovak Legions had been part of the Russian army and numbered around 30,000 troops by October 1917 and they had an agreement with the new Bolshevik government to be evacuated from the Eastern Front via the port of Vladivostok to France. The transport from the Eastern Front to Vladivostok slowed down in the chaos, under pressure from the Central Powers, Trotsky ordered the disarming and arrest of the legionaries, which created tensions with the Bolsheviks. The Western Allies armed and supported opponents of the Bolsheviks, hence, many of these countries expressed their support for the Whites, including the provision of troops and supplies. Winston Churchill declared that Bolshevism must be strangled in its cradle, the British and French had supported Russia during World War I on a massive scale with war materials. After the treaty, it looked like much of material would fall into the hands of the Germans. Under this pretext began allied intervention in the Russian Civil War with the United Kingdom, there were violent clashes with troops loyal to the Bolsheviks